An influential figure for such leading British guitarists of the seventies as Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, Hank Marvin served as lead guitarist for the Shadows, a premier British instrumental group that also functioned as Cliff Richard’s primary backing band throughout most of his chart successes. Born Brian Robson Rankin on October 28, 1941, Marvin spent his formative years in Newcastle, where he studied guitar, banjo, and piano. While performing with several local skiffle ensembles, he encountered rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch. Following their relocation to London in 1958, both musicians were enlisted for Cliff Richard’s backing band, the Drifters, alongside Ian Samwell and Terry Smart. Richard’s debut single, “Move It,” reached number two on the British charts, and the following year two further releases, “Living Doll” and “Travellin’ Light,” each climbed to number one. After Samwell and Smart departed the group—which adopted the name the Shadows to distinguish itself from the American vocal ensemble—they were succeeded by bassist Jet Harris and drummer Tony Meehan.
In late 1959 the Shadows cut several instrumental tracks, among them “Apache,” which attained the top position on the British charts. Between 1960 and 1963 the band accumulated four number-one singles and seven additional Top Ten entries before disbanding in 1968. While maintaining his association with Cliff Richard as both performer and recording artist, Marvin launched a solo career with his self-titled album in 1969, which peaked at number 14 on the album charts. During the early seventies he rejoined Welch and John Farrar to form Marvin, Welch and Farrar. The trio issued both a self-titled LP and Second Opinion, after which Marvin and Farrar released another album as a duo. In 1973 Marvin relocated to Australia and embraced the Jehovah’s Witness faith, yet he subsequently rejoined a reconstituted Shadows lineup. The ensemble resumed recording and secured Top Ten placements in 1978–1979 with “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and “Theme from ‘The Deerhunter.’”
Marvin’s sole solo chart achievement arrived with the 1982 album Words and Music, which contained the British hit “Don’t Talk.” He followed this with All Alone with Friends in 1983, then returned in the nineties with four further releases: Into the Light, Heartbeat, Hank Plays Cliff, and Hank Plays Holly. Throughout the 2000s he sustained an active touring schedule and continued to issue recordings, including the British Top Ten albums Guitar Player and Guitar Man, while also contributing guest appearances for artists such as Jason Donovan and Richard Hawley. In 2014 Marvin ventured into jazz with Django’s Castle, recorded alongside rhythm guitarist Gary Taylor and accordionist Nunzio Mondia. He re-emerged in 2017 with Without a Word, an album of interpretations drawn from the catalogs of several artists he admired, among them the Beatles and Elvis.
